KoBoToolbox is a suite of tools for field data collection for use in challenging environments. Our software is free and open source. Most of our users are people working in humanitarian crises, as well as aid professionals and researchers working in developing countries. Our team of developers and researchers are based in Cambridge, MA but also spend much of their time collecting data in large-scale population surveys using our own tools in places such DR Congo, Uganda, East Timor, Burundi, Central African Republic, etc.

Quickly collecting reliable information in a humanitarian crisis – especially following a natural disaster such as a large earthquake or a typhoon taking place in a poor country – is the critical link to saving the lives of the most vulnerable. Understanding the population’s needs is often neglected for lack of quick means to gather and analyze this crucial information. KoBoToolbox, developed by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, is an open source suite of tools for data collection and analysis in humanitarian emergencies and other challenging environments that was built to address this gap. KoBoToolbox is funded entirely through generous grants and donations from our partners.

In September 2014 we launched a significant new phase of our KoBoToolbox software suite in coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to make electronic data collection more standardized, more reliable, and easier to use in humanitarian crises. Many additional features are still being added to the software every week to make the products more useful and relevant to a growing number of people. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch.

KoBoToolbox was first created in 2009 and has grown over the years to include several projects and initiatives that have allowed it to become one of the most widely used tools for primary data collection. Our tools now include: